As a long time Japanese tax payer, but of course without representation, I wonder why there is little noise from the general population about the election being called by the Abe administration, which will cost the country billions of yen in taxpayer money.
Shinzo Abe's popularity rating has risen recently, but this has been more due to the Cabinet reshuffle which still needs to prove it self, and the North Korea situation and the various natural disasters putting the recent scandals on the back burner.
For various reasons I think it would have been better for Abe to forget about calling a general election and instead concentrate on the very real problems that Japan faces (not least the very high public debt that this election will not help) but also getting Abenomics to work fully.
I do not think we will see a U.K.-May type situation — the political opposition in the U.K. is far more organized than the Japan opposition. However, a common statement prior to the recent U.K. election was the need for a strong opposition to make democracy stronger — something that we have never seen in Japan!
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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